Arna’s admiration of the ocean can be traced back to her childhood, growing up in a seaside town in the far south of Tasmania. Her father is an Abalone diver and he would bring home shells with mesmerising mother-of-pearl patterns in blue, green and pink tones. Her husband shares similar childhood memories. Jed is from the eastern suburbs of Sydney, close to the beautiful Clovelly and Coogee beaches.
To honour this shared love, Arna and Jed’s wedding took place on the coast of Tasmania, overlooking the tranquil waters of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Bruny Island. Arna walked down the aisle in a pearl wedding veil, our exquisite pearl drenched Dewberry.
Both the ceremony and reception were held at Peppermint Grove, in Woodbridge, Tasmania. Arna and Jed wanted to create an elegant and warm atmosphere, and styled the venue with lots of candles, greenery and white roses.
“We both are very much family orientated and wanted to bring everyone together in a relaxed environment, which was made naturally easy with our gorgeous water-side venue nestled in a calm cove overlooking Bruny Island,” says Arna.
Wedding dress shopping was both an enjoyable and eye-opening experience for Arna. Once they found her perfect dress, Arna and her mum were sad the experience was over!
“I had a style in mind and after trying so many dresses in that style, I realised they just didn’t suit me at all,” says Arna. “That’s when I started to wonder if maybe a simple, classic style would suit me better. After some research around the local bridal boutiques, Timeless Elegance said that they had just received some new designs that they thought might interest me and sent me a photo of ‘Lily’. At first I wasn’t sure as it was very figure hugging. I tried it on and it was an instant… “mm, yes!” It’s gorgeous bow fell perfectly over my shoulder without it being too ‘ bow-ie’ and gave the dress some simple interest, it just felt right.”
Arna’s advice to brides-to-be is to start dress shopping early (from when Arna ordered her dress to when it arrived, it was about 8 and a half months) and to not be afraid to try a dress on that isn’t your style – as you might be pleasantly surprised!
A testament to her love of the water, Arna styled her dress with our pearl Dewberry veil – a single tier veil in chapel length, featuring a beautiful sprinkling of crystal pearls.
“I originally wasn’t going to wear a veil… I personally thought it was too old fashioned and unnecessary. However, once I had decided on my dress, I thought maybe I’ll just try a veil on to see what it would look like… I fell in love again!” says Arna. “But I didn’t want just a plain tulle. I didn’t even research veils, I kept thinking about them for weeks until I thought – a pearl veil! I love pearls and so I started googling pearl veils and came across Tania Maras and absolutely fell in love with Dewberry.”
To complement her veil, Arna’s hair was styled side swept with a pearl hair clip and vintage waves.
“Have the wedding you want. It’s great to get other people’s opinions and ideas, but at the end of the day, it’s yours and it truly is one of the best times of your lives,” says Arna. “Take it all in and enjoy the process, it’s a lot of fun!”
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Bespoke and ready-to-wear bridal accessories and veils. Designed and handcrafted in Canberra, Australia. Our online store is open 24/7 with worldwide delivery available including express options. The Fyshwick showroom is by appointment only. Virtual appointments are available for interstate and international brides.